I played Diamond Springs back in September and have been thinking a lot about this hole (and the course) ever since. It’s definitely one of the most interesting short/drivable par 4s I have played.
Quick side note on the course: you don’t hear much about this place, but man is there a lot to like. It is the quintessential “everything you need, nothing you don’t” type golf course. I wasn’t sure how the two cut length mowing strategy was going play (green height and everything else), but I thought it presented very well, especially for $35. There are a bunch of really good (and unique) holes and it’s a lovely walk. Golf needs more Diamond Springs. For a more thorough review and a ton of good pictures (including of the 15
th), check out the course review over at Fried Egg:
https://thefriedegg.com/diamond-springs-golf-course/ Back to the 15
th: If you look at the aerial of this hole, you would think it looks like a thousand other short par 4s. Hazard all down the right; green at 45ish degree angle at far end of hazard; ample fairway out to the left. Whack one up around the green if you can/dare, or lay-up out left and wedge in. However, at ground level this hole is MUCH more interesting than your garden variety short 4.
For those attempting to drive the green, it looks like a fairly simple task from the tee. From there, it appears the wide green sits nearly perpendicular. Anything lost out to the right is dead, but you see what looks like bailouts long, long right and possibly left. You feel like you have a lot of places to miss. This is especially true if the carry yardage isn’t an issue. However, once you get up to the green, you realize that up and downs from around the green are no cakewalk. The green sits in a little bowl-like area with the ground behind the green and to the left of the green elevated. And once you’re up there above the green, everything runs away from you straight into the hazard. Pretty quickly you can go from being hopeful for a short-ish birdie putt to playing defensively and sweating out a par.
But green and green surrounds, good as they may be, aren’t what make the hole. It’s the fairway – more specifically the fairway undulations. It’s hard to pick up from the tee, but there is a spine and falloff that runs down the middle of the entire fairway. And it’s deep enough to completely block your view of the green if you bail out left – either on a lay-up or attempting to drive the green. That’s a very uncomfortable shot: totally blind to a narrow green with a hazard right and tough up and downs all around.
So, if you decide to lay-up and want a great view of the green, you need take on the hazard and place your ball on the right half of the fairway. I hit a mid-iron off the tee, pushed it right of my line by 5 yards or so and ended up with the ideal lay-up. I didn’t realize until I got up to my ball that had I hit my target, my ball likely would have tumbled down the ridge in the middle of fairway and left me a blind approach (albeit from the fairway). Having the knowledge of the fairway ridge/blindness increases the stress of the tee-shot, because you know you have a pretty small area to stop your ball if you want to be in position A (lay-up).
It seems like such a simple and effective contour for a short par 4. I walked off the hole thinking “wow that was a really good hole” and “why haven’t I seen something like this before?” I’ll post some photos of the hole shortly. Interested to hear others’ take on this devilish little 2-shotter.